Week 1 for the Los Angeles Rams is in the books and surprisingly, Los Angeles is 1-0 after crushing the Seahawks, 30-13, on the road Sunday. The Rams came out of the gates strong with a 17-point win, making a statement to the rest of the league that they’re not going to lay down and tank this season despite getting rid of several starters.
The defense was dominant in the second half, allowing 12 total yards, while the offense outscored Seattle 23-0 in the final 30 minutes to pull away down the stretch. Overall, it was a terrific performance by the Rams, who could be much better than expected this season.
Buy Rams TicketsHere are nine things we learned from the opener.
1
The Rams aren’t going to be in contention for the No. 1 pick
If you’re hoping the Rams land Caleb Williams with the top pick in the 2024 draft, you’re probably going to be disappointed come April. It’s only one game, but this doesn’t look like a team that’s going to be in the race for the No. 1 overall pick. They’re certainly not as bad as the Cardinals, who are going to have a miserable season – at least until Kyler Murray returns.
While it’s too early to call the Rams a playoff team, they’re not going to be a bottom-feeding team this season unless something goes terribly wrong. When you have Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, Sean McVay and eventually Cooper Kupp, you’re going to remain at least somewhat competitive.
2
Kyren Williams should remain the top RB
It was Cam Akers who got the start at running back and the most carries in the game (22), but Williams was absolutely the more productive and efficient player. Akers turned those 22 carries into just 29 yards, with 12 yards coming on one carry. Most of his production came in garbage time when the Rams were just trying to wind down the clock, too.
Williams wasn’t dominant by any means, but he had 52 yards on 15 carries and scored twice. Just watching the two of them play, you could see Williams ran with more juice and energy, bursting through the line of scrimmage with impressive acceleration.
Moving forward, Williams should remain the primary back over Akers.
3
The secondary is better than expected
DK Metcalf said last week that he couldn’t name one player in the Rams secondary. Well, he should probably study up because they held him to 47 yards, 28 of which came on one reception. The Seahawks as a team had just 95 net passing yards, in large part because of the performance of the Rams’ secondary.
Derion Kendrick bounced back from a touchdown he allowed in coverage, while Cobie Durant’s only mistake was a pass interference penalty early on. Ahkello Witherspoon held up well on the outside against Metcalf, too, and even played well enough that Metcalf lost his cool and shoved the cornerback to the ground in what was unquestionably a dirty play.
4
Special teams is still a concern
For as much good as the Rams showed Sunday, the special teams unit is still a little bit concerning. Brett Maher had a 57-yarder blocked, then he missed a 56-yard field goal wide right. He did make a 38-yarder and 54-yarder in the second half, so that was a nice job of bouncing back.
It was the coverage units that struggled, both on punts and kickoffs. Seattle had a punt return of 20 yards on Ethan Evans’ only punt, while there was also a 34-yard kickoff return by DeeJay Dallas. That’s one area the Rams need to improve.
5
Run defense could use work
The Seahawks began the day running it really well against the Rams. Kenneth Walker had 53 yards on nine carries in the first half, proving difficult to get on the ground. Los Angeles struggled to set the edge, and when the Seahawks ran it inside, the Rams’ lack of size showed up.
Fortunately, the Seahawks abandoned the run in the second half, as Walker had just three carries for 11 yards in the final two quarters, but Los Angeles has to get better against the run. This is especially important with the 49ers coming to town next week.
6
Matthew Stafford looks like himself again
Stafford labored through an elbow issue last year and it showed. Now fully healthy, Stafford looks like himself again. He threw for 334 yards on 24-for-38 passing against the Seahawks, and while he didn’t have a touchdown, he also didn’t come close to throwing an interception.
It was as clean a performance as the Rams could’ve hoped for from Stafford, who was sharp throwing to all areas of the field. He threw off-platform, side-arm, on the move, deep down the field. You name it, Stafford did it. And he made it look easy against a Seahawks defense that has some good defensive backs.
7
Puka Nacua is here to stay, even when Cooper Kupp returns
There’s no chance the Rams will be able to take Nacua off the field when Kupp returns, which will hopefully be in Week 5. The rookie receiver was targeted a game-high 15 times, nearly twice as many times as anyone else on the field Sunday. He caught 10 passes for 119 yards, and while he didn’t have any huge plays down the field, he did have two receptions of 20-plus yards.
He settled in nicely as the game went on, punctuated by a leaping grab along the sideline that he somehow caught and managed to get his feet down in bounds before crossing the boundary. Nacua will still get snaps when Kupp returns and while it’s highly unlikely he sees 15 targets in a game when the Rams are fully healthy, this was a strong statement by the rookie.
8
Tutu Atwell’s breakout season might be finally happen
Rams fans have been waiting three years for Atwell to break out but this might finally be the season it happens. He had his best game as a pro on Sunday, catching six passes for 119 yards with a long of 44 yards, which was a beautiful deep shot from Stafford.
What’s encouraging is the fact that Atwell did damage all over the field. He caught short passes, went over the middle and hauled in throws in traffic and caught the aforementioned deep ball for 44 yards. Like Nacua, he should be able to take advantage of the available snaps with Kupp out, but he’ll remain a key part of the offense when Kupp returns.
9
Offensive line deserves some praise
There was a lot of talk about the Rams’ offensive line this offseason, from questions about who would start to concerns about their ability to protect Stafford. Well, it’s only Week 1 but the O-line doesn’t look like a problem at all.
Alaric Jackson was impressive at left tackle, Coleman Shelton did his job in pass protection at center and Joe Noteboom had a positive impact at right guard. Rookie Steve Avila was great on the interior, as well. This is likely to remain the group moving forward, with next week against San Francisco being a much bigger test.
